01. SERMON I
SERMON I
I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.—Song of Solomon 5:1.
OTHER books of Solomon lie more obvious and open to common understanding; but, as none entered into the holy of holies but the high priest, Leviticus 16:2, seq., and Hebrews 9:7, so none can enter into the mystery of this Song of songs, but such as have more near communion with Christ. Songs, and specially marriage songs, serve to express men’s own joys, and others’ praises. So this book contains the mutual joys and mutual praises betwixt Christ and his church. And as Christ and his church are the greatest persons that partake of human nature, so whatsoever is excellent in the whole world is borrowed to set out the excellencies of these two great lovers.
It is called ’Solomon’s Song,’ who, next unto Christ, was the greatest son of wisdom that ever the church bred, whose understanding, as it was ’large as the sand of the sea,’ 1 Kings 4:29, so his affections, especially that of love, were as large, as we may see by his many wives, and by the delight he sought to take in whatsoever nature could afford. Which affection of love, in him misplaced, had been his undoing, but that he was one beloved of God, who by his Spirit raised his soul to lovely objects of a higher nature. Here in this argument there is no danger for the deepest wit, or the largest affection, yea, of a Solomon, to overreach. For the knowledge of the love of Christ to his church is above all knowledge, Ephesians 3:19. The angels themselves may admire it, though they cannot comprehend it. It may well, therefore, be called the ’Song of Solomon;’ the most excellent song of a man of the highest conceit* and deepest apprehension, and of the highest matters, the intercourse betwixt Christ, the highest Lord of lords, and his best beloved contracted spouse.
There are divers things in this song that a corrupt heart, unto which all things are defiled, may take offence; but ’to the pure all things are pure,’ Titus 1:15. Such a sinful abuse of this heavenly book is far from the intention of the Holy Ghost in it, which is by stooping low to us, to take advantage to raise us higher unto him, that by taking advantage of the sweetest passage of our life, marriage, and the most delightful affection, love, in the sweetest manner of expression, by a song, he might carry up the soul to things of a heavenly nature. We see in summer that one heat weakens another; and a great light being near a little one, draws away and obscures the flame of the other. So it is when the affections are taken up higher to their fit object; they die unto all earthly things, whilst that heavenly flame consumes and wastes all base affections and earthly desires. Amongst other ways of mortification, there be two remarkable—
1. By embittering all earthly things unto us, whereby the affections are deaded* to them.
2. By shewing more noble, excellent, and fit objects, that the soul, issuing more largely and strongly into them, may be diverted, and so by degrees die unto other things. The Holy Spirit hath chosen this way in this song, by elevating and raising our affections and love, to take it off from other things, that so it might run in its right channel. It is pity that a sweet stream should not rather run into a garden than into a puddle. What a shame is it that man, having in him such excellent affections as love, joy, delight, should cleave to dirty, base things, that are worse than himself, so becoming debased like them! Therefore the Spirit of God, out of mercy and pity to man, would raise up his affections, by taking comparison from earthly things, leading to higher matters, that only deserve love, joy, delight, and admiration. Let God’s stooping to us occasion our rising up unto him. For here the greatest things, the ’mystery of mysteries,’ the communion betwixt Christ and his church, is set out in the familiar comparison of a marriage, that so we might the better see it in the glass of comparison, which we cannot so directly conceive of; as we may see the sun in water, whose beams we cannot so directly look upon. Only our care must be not to look so much on the colours as the picture, and not so much on the picture as on the person itself represented; that we look not so much to the resemblance as to the person resembled.
Some would have Solomon, by a spirit of prophecy, to take a view here of all the time, from his age to the second coming of Christ, and in this song, as in an abridgment, to set down the several passages and periods of the church in several ages, as containing divers things which are more correspondent to one age of the church than another (a). But howsoever this song may contain, we deny not, a story of the church in several ages, yet this hinders not, but that most passages of it agree to the spiritual estate of the church in every age, as most interpreters have thought. In this song there is, 1. A strong desire of the church of nearer communion with Christ; and then, 2. Some declining again in affection.
3. After this we have her recovery and regaining again of love; after which,
4. The church falls again into a declining of affection; whereupon follows a further strangeness of Christ to her than before, which continues until,
5. That the church, perceiving of Christ’s constant affection unto her, notwithstanding her unkind dealing, recovers, and cleaves faster to Christ than ever before, chap. 3.
These passages agree to the experience of the best Christians in the state of their own lives. This observation must carry strength through this whole song, that there is the same regard of the whole church, and of every particular member, in regard of the chiefest privileges and graces that accompany salvation. There is the same reason of every drop of water as of the whole ocean, all is water; and of every spark of fire as of the whole element of fire, all is fire. Of those homogeneal bodies, as we call them, there is the same respect of the part and of the whole. And therefore, as the whole church is the spouse of Christ, so is every particular Christian; and as the whole church desires still nearer communion with Christ, so doth every particular member. But to come to the words, ’I am come into my garden,’ &c. This chapter is not so well broken and divided from the former as it might have been, for it were better and more consequent* that the last verse of the former chapter were added to the beginning of this.
’Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits,’ Song of Solomon 4:16. And therefore, by reason of connection of this chapter with the former verse, we will first speak somewhat of it briefly, only to make way for that which follows. The words contain—
1. A turning of Christ’s speech to the winds to blow upon his garden, with the end why, ’that the spices thereof may flow out.’
2. We have an invitation of Christ, by the church, to come into his garden, with the end, ’to eat his pleasant fruits.’
Quest. It may be a question whether this command be the words of Christ or the desire of his spouse?
Ans. The words are spoken by Christ, because he calls it ’my garden,’ and the church after invites him to eat of ’his pleasant fruits,’ not of hers. Yet the words may be likewise an answer to a former secret desire of the church, whereof the order is this: The church being sensible of some deadness of spirit, secretly desires some further quickening. Christ then answers those desires by commanding the winds to blow upon her. For ordinarily Christ first stirs up desires, and then answers the desires of his own Spirit by further increase, as here, ’Awake, thou north wind; and come, thou south; and blow upon my garden,’ &c.
1. For the first point named, we see here that Christ sends forth his Spirit, with command to all means, under the name of ’north and south wind,’ to further the fruitfulness of his church. The wind is nature’s fan. What winds are to the garden, that the Spirit of Christ, in the use of means, is to the soul. From comparison fetched from Christ’s commanding the winds, we may in general observe, that all creatures stand in obedience to Christ, as ready at a word, whensoever he speaks to them. They are all, as it were, asleep until he awakes them. He can call for the wind out of his treasures when he pleases: he holds them in his fist, Proverbs 30:4.
Use. Which may comfort all those that are Christ’s, that they are under one that hath all creatures at his beck under him to do them service, and at his check to do them no harm. This drew the disciples in admiration to say, ’What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the seas obey him?’ Matthew 8:27. And cannot the same power still the winds and waves of the churches and states, and cause a sudden calm, if, as the disciples, we awake him with our prayers.
2. Secondly, we see here that Christ speaks to winds contrary one to another, both in regard of the coasts from whence they blow, and in their quality; but both agree in this, that both are necessary for the garden: where we see that the courses that Christ takes, and the means that he uses with his church, may seem contrary; but by a wise ordering, all agree in the wholesome issue. A prosperous and an afflicted condition are contrary: a mild and a sharp course may seem to cross one another; yet sweetly they agree in this, that as the church needeth both, so Christ useth both for the church’s good. The north is a nipping wind, and the south a cherishing wind; therefore the south wind is the welcomer and sweeter after the north wind hath blown. But howsoever, all things are ours: ’Paul, Apollos, Cephas, things present and to come, life, death,’ &c., 1 Corinthians 3:21-22; ’all things work together for good to us, being in Christ,’ Romans 8:28.
Use 1. Hence it is that the manifold wisdom of Christ maketh use of such variety of conditions; and hence it is that the Spirit of Christ is mild in some men’s ministries, and sharp in others: nay, in the very same minister, as the state of the soul they have to deal withal requires.
Use 2. Sometimes, again, the people of God need purging, and sometimes refreshing. Whereupon the Spirit of God carries itself suitably to both conditions; and the Spirit in the godly themselves draws good out of every condition, sure [as] they are that all winds blow them good, and [that] were it not for their good, no winds should blow upon them. But in regard that these times of ours, by long peace and plenty, grow cold, heavy, and secure, we need therefore all kinds of winds to blow upon us, and all little enough. Time was when we were more quick and lively, but now the heat of our spirits is* abated. We must therefore take heed of it, and ’quicken those things that are ready to die,’ Revelation 3:2; or else, instead of the north and south wind, God will send an east wind that shall dry up all, as it is, Hosea 13:15.
Use 3. Again, if Christ can raise or lay, bind up or let loose, all kind of winds at his pleasure, then if means be wanting or fruitless, it is he that says to the clouds, Drop not, and to the winds, Blow not. Therefore, we must acknowledge him in want or plenty of means. The Spirit of Christ in the use of means is a free agent, sometimes blows strongly, sometimes more mildly, sometimes not at all. No creature hath these winds in a bag at command, and therefore it is wisdom to yield to the gales of the Spirit. Though in some other things, as Solomon observes, it may hinder to observe the winds, Ecclesiastes 11:4, yet here it is necessary and profitable to observe the winds of the Spirit.
Now, for the clear understanding of what we are to speak of, let us first observe—
1. Why the Spirit of God, in the use of the means, is compared to wind. And then, 2. Why the church is compared to a garden; which shall be handled in the proper place. But first for the wind.
1. ’The wind bloweth where it listeth,’ as it is John 3:8. So the Spirit of God blows freely, and openeth the heart of some, and poureth grace plentifully in them.
2. The wind, especially the north wind, hath a cleansing force. So the Spirit of God purgeth our hearts ’from dead works to serve the living God, making us partakers of the divine nature,’ 2 Peter 1:4.
3. The wind disperseth and scattereth clouds, and makes a serenity in the air. So doth the Spirit disperse such clouds as corruption and Satan raise up in the soul, that we may clearly see the face of God in Jesus Christ.
4. The wind hath a cooling and a tempering quality, and tempers the distemper of nature. As in some hot countries there be yearly anniversary winds, which blow at certain times in summer, tempering the heat; so the Spirit of God allayeth the unnatural heats of the soul in fiery temptations, and bringeth it into a good temper.
5. The wind being subtle, searcheth into every corner and cranny. So the Spirit likewise is of a searching nature, and discerneth betwixt the joints and the marrow, betwixt the flesh and the Spirit, &c., searching those hidden corruptions, that nature could never have found out.
6. The wind hath a cherishing and a fructifying force. So the Spirit is a quickening and a cherishing Spirit, and maketh the heart, which is as a barren wilderness, to be fruitful.
7. The wind hath a power of conveying sweet smells in the air, to carry them from one to another. So the Spirit in the word conveyeth the seeds of grace and comfort from one to another. It draws out what sweetness is in the spirits of men, and makes them fragrant and delightful to others.
8. The wind, again, bears down all before it, beats down houses, and trees, like the cedars in Lebanon, turns them up by the roots, and lays all flat. So the Spirit is mighty in operation. There is no standing before it. It brings down mountains, and every high thing that exalts itself, and lays them level; nay, the Roman and those other mighty empires could not stand before it. For these respects and the like, the ’blowing of the Spirit’ is compared to wind. For which end Christ here commands the wind to ’blow upon his garden.’
1. To blow, &c. See here the order, linking, and concatenation of things one under another. To the prospering of a poor flower or plant in a garden, not only soil is needful, but air and wind also, and the influence of heaven; and God commanding all, as here the winds to blow upon his garden. To this end, as a wonderful mercy to his people, it is said, ’And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord: I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel,’ Hosea 2:21-22. As the creatures are from God, so the order and dependence of creatures one from another, to teach us not only what to pray for, but also what to pray fitly for; not only to pray for the dew of heaven, but also for seasonable and cherishing winds. It is not the soil, but the season, that makes fruitful, Non ager sed annus facit fructus, and that from seasonable winds and influences. So in spiritual things there is a chain of causes and effects: prayer comes from faith Romans 10:14; faith from the hearing of the word; hearing from a preacher, by whom God by his Spirit blows upon the heart; and a preacher from God’s sending. If the God of nature should but hinder and take away one link of nature’s chain, the whole frame would be disturbed. Well, that which Christ commands here, is for the winds to ’blow upon his garden.’ And we need blowing: our spirits will be becalmed else, and stand at a stay; and Satan will be sure by himself, and such as are his bellows, to blow up the seeds of sinful lusts in us. For there are two spirits in the church, the one always blowing against the other. Therefore, the best had need to be stirred up; otherwise, with Moses, Exodus 17:12, their hands will be ready to fall down, and abate in their affection. Therefore we need blowing—
1. In regard of our natural inability.
2. In regard of our dulness and heaviness, cleaving to nature occasionally.
3. In regard of contrary winds from without.
Satan hath his bellows filled with his spirit, that hinders the work of grace all they can; so that we need not only Christ’s blowing, but also his stopping other contrary winds, that they blow not, Revelation 7:1.
4. In regard of the estate and condition of the new Covenant, wherein all beginning, growth, and ending, is from grace, and nothing but grace.
5. Because old grace, without a fresh supply, will not hold against new crosses and temptations.
Use. Therefore when Christ draws, let us run after him; when he blows, let us open unto him. It may be the last blast that ever we shall have from him. And let us set upon duties with this encouragement, that Christ will blow upon us, not only to prevent us, but also to maintain his own graces in us. But O! where is this stirring up of ourselves, and one another, upon these grounds!
Quest. But, why is the church compared to a garden?
Ans. Christ herein takes all manner of terms to express himself and the state of the church; as it is to him, to shew us that wheresoever we are, we may have occasion of heavenly thoughts, to raise up our thoughts to higher matters. His church is his ’temple,’ when we are in the temple; it is a ’field’ when we are there; a ’garden,’ if we walk in a garden. It is also a ’spouse’ and a ’sister,’ &c. But more particularly the church is resembled to a garden.
1. Because a garden is taken out of the common waste ground, to be appropriated to a more particular use. So the church of Christ is taken out of the wilderness of this waste world, to a particular use. It is in respect of the rest, as Goshen to Egypt, Exodus 9:26, wherein light was, when all else was in darkness. And indeed wherein doth the church differ from other grounds, but that Christ hath taken it in? It is the same soil as other grounds are; but, he dresseth and fits it to bear spices and herbs.
2. In a garden nothing comes up naturally of itself, but as it is planted and set. So nothing is good in the heart, but as it is planted and set by the heavenly husbandman, John 15:4; and Matthew 15:3. We need not sow the wilderness, for the seeds of weeds prosper naturally. The earth is a mother to weeds, but a stepmother to herbs. So weeds and passions grow too rank naturally, but nothing grows in the church of itself, but as it is set by the hand of Christ, who is the author, dresser, and pruner of his garden.
3. Again, in a garden nothing uses to be planted but what is useful and delightful. So there is no grace in the heart of a Christian, but it is useful, as occasion serves, both to God and man.
4. Further, in a garden there are variety of flowers and spices, especially in those hot countries. So in a Christian, there is somewhat of every grace. As some cannot hear of a curious flower, but they will have it in their garden, so a Christian cannot hear of any grace but he labours to obtain it. They labour for graces for all seasons, and occasions. They have for prosperity, temperance and sobriety; for adversity, patience and hope to sustain them. For those that are above them, they have respect and obedience; and for those under them, suitable usage in all conditions of Christianity. For the Spirit of God in them is a seminary of spiritual good things. As in the corruption of nature, before the Spirit of God came to us, there was the seminary of all ill weeds in us, so when there is a new quality and new principles put in us, therewith comes the seeds of all graces.
5. Again, of all other places, we most delight in our gardens to walk there and take our pleasure, and take care thereof, for fencing, weeding, watering, and planting. So Christ’s chief care and delight is for his church. He walks in the midst of the ’seven golden candlesticks,’ Revelation 2:1; and if he defend and protect States, it is that they may be a harbour to his church.
6. And then again, as in gardens there had wont to have fountains and streams which run through their gardens, (as paradise had four streams which ran through it); so the church is Christ’s paradise; and his Spirit is a spring in the midst of it, to refresh the souls of his upon all their faintings, and so the soul of a Christian becomes as a watered garden.
7. So also, ’their fountains were sealed up,’ Song of Solomon 4:12; so the joys of the church and particular Christians are, as it were, sealed, up. A stranger, it is said, ’shall not meddle with this joy of the church,’ Proverbs 14:10.
8. Lastly, a garden stands always in need of weeding and dressing. Continual labour and cost must be bestowed upon it; sometimes planting, pruning, and weeding, &c. So in the church and hearts of Christians, Christ hath always somewhat to do. We would else soon be overgrown and turn wild. In all which, and the like respects, Christ calleth upon the winds ’to blow upon his garden.’
Use 1. If then the church be a severed portion, then we should walk as men of a severed condition from the world, not as men of the world, but as Christians; to make good that we are so, by feeling the graces of God’s Spirit in some comfortable measure, that so Christ may have something in us, that he may delight to dwell with us, so to be subject to his pruning and dressing. For, it is so far from being an ill sign, that Christ is at cost* with us, in following us with afflictions, that it is rather a sure sign of his love. For, the care of this blessed husbandman is to prune us, so as to make us fruitful. Men care not for heath and wilderness, whereupon they bestow no cost. So when God prunes us by crosses and afflictions, and sows good seed in us, it is a sign he means to dwell with us, and delight in us.
2. And then also, we should not strive so much for common liberties of the world that common people delight in, but for peculiar graces, that God may delight in us as his garden.
3. And then, let us learn hence, not to despise any nation or person, seeing God can take out of the waste wilderness whom he will, and make the desert an Eden.
4. Again, let us bless God for ourselves, that our lot hath fallen into such a pleasant place, to be planted in the church, the place of God’s delight.
5. And this also should move us to be fruitful. For men will endure a fruitless tree in the waste wilderness, but in their garden who will endure it? Dignity should mind us of duty. It is strange to be fruitless and barren in this place that we live in, being watered with the dew of heaven, under the sweet influence of the means. This fruitless estate being often watered from heaven, how fearfully is it threatened by the Holy Ghost, that ’it is near unto cursing and burning,’ Hebrews 6:8. For in this case, visible churches, if they prosper not, God will remove the hedge, and lay them waste, having a garden elsewhere. Sometimes God’s plants prosper better in Babylon, than in Judea. It is to be feared God may complain of us, as he doth of his people, ’I have planted thee a noble vine; how art thou then come to be degenerated?’ Jeremiah 2:21. If in this case we regard iniquity in our heart, the Lord will not regard the best thing that comes from us, as our prayers, Hebrews 12:17. We must then learn of himself, how and wherein to please him. Obedience from a broken heart is the best sacrifice. Mark in [the] Scriptures what he abhors, what he delights in. We use to say of our friends, Would God I knew how to please them. Christ teacheth us, that ’without faith it is impossible to please him,’ Hebrews 11:6. Let us then strive and labour to be fruitful in our places and callings. For it is the greatest honour in this world, for God to dignify us with such a condition, as to make us fruitful. ’We must not bring forth fruit to ourselves,’ as God complains of Ephraim, [Israel], Hosea 10:1. Honour, riches, and the like, are but secondary things, arbitrary at God’s pleasure to cast in; but, to have an active heart fruitful from this ground, that God hath planted us for this purpose, that we may do good to mankind, this is an excellent consideration not to profane our calling. The blessed man is said to be, ’a tree planted by the water side, that brings forth fruit in due season,’ Psalms 1:3. But it is not every fruit; not that fruit which Moses complains of, Deuteronomy 32:32, the wine of dragons, and the gall of asps: but good fruit, as John speaks; ’Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire,’ Matthew 3:10.
6. Lastly, in that the church is called Christ’s garden, this may strengthen our faith in God’s care and protection. The church may seem to lie open to all incursions, but it hath an invisible hedge about it, a wall without it, and a well within it, Zechariah 2:5. God himself is a wall of fire about it, and his Spirit a well of living waters running through it to refresh and comfort it. As it was said of Canaan, so it may be said of the church, ’The eye of the Lord is upon it all the year long,’ Deuteronomy 11:12, and he waters it continually. From which especial care of God over it, this is a good plea for us to God, ’I am thine, save me;’ I am a plant of thine own setting; nothing is in me but what is thine, therefore cherish what is thine. So, for the whole church the plea is good: ’The church is thine; fence it, water it, defend it, keep the wild boar out of it.’ Therefore the enemies thereof shall one day know what it is to make a breach upon God’s vineyard. In the mean time, let us labour to keep our hearts as a garden, that nothing that defileth may enter. In which respects the church is compared to a garden, upon which Christ commands the north and south wind, all the means of grace, to blow. But to what end must these winds blow upon the garden?
’That the spices thereof may flow out.’ The end of this blowing is, you see, ’that the spices thereof may flow out.’ Good things in us lie dead and bound up, unless the Spirit let them out. We ebb and flow, open and shut, as the Spirit blows upon us; without blowing, no flowing. There were gracious good things in the church, but they wanted blowing up and further spreading, whence we may observe, that,
Obs. 1. We need not only grace to put life into us at the first, but likewise grace to quicken and draw forth that grace that we have. This is the difference betwixt man’s blowing and the Spirit’s. Man, when he blows, if grace be not there before, spends all his labour upon a dead coal, which he cannot make take fire. But the Spirit first kindles a holy fire, and then increases the flame. Christ had in the use of means wrought on the church before, and now further promoteth his own work. We must first take in, and then send out; first be cisterns to contain, and then conduits to convey. The wind first blows, and then the spices of the church flow out. We are first sweet in ourselves, and then sweet to others.
Obs. 2. Whence we see further, that it is not enough to be good in ourselves, but our goodness must flow out; that is, grow more strong, useful to continue and stream forth for the good of others. We must labour to be, as was said of John, burning and shining Christians, John 5:35. For Christ is not like a box of ointment shut up and not opened, but like that box of ointment that Mary poured out, which perfumes all the whole house with the sweetness thereof. For the Spirit is herein like wind; it carries the sweet savour of grace to others. A Christian, so soon as he finds any rooting in God, is of a spreading disposition, and makes the places he lives in the better for him. The whole body is the better for every good member, as we see in Onesimus, Phil. 11. The meanest persons, when they become good, are useful and profitable; of briars, become flowers. The very naming of a good man casts a sweet savour, as presenting some grace to the heart of the hearer. For then we have what we have to purpose, when others have occasion to bless God for us, for conveying comfort to them by us. And for our furtherance herein, therefore, the winds are called upon to awake and blow upon Christ’s garden, ’that the spices thereof may flow out.’
Obs. 3. Hence we see, also, that where once God begins, he goes on, and delights to add encouragement to encouragement, to maintain new setters up in religion, and doth not only give them a stock of grace at the beginning, but also helps them to trade. He is not only Alpha, but Omega, unto them, the beginning and the ending, Revelation 1:8. He doth not only plant graces, but also watereth and cherisheth them. Where the Spirit of Christ is, it is an encouraging Spirit; for not only it infuseth grace, but also stirs it up, that we may be ready prepared for every good work, otherwise we cannot do that which we are able to do. The Spirit must bring all into exercise, else the habits of grace will lie asleep. We need a present Spirit to do every good; not only the power to will, but the will itself; and not only the will, but the deed, is from the Spirit, which should stir us up to go to Christ, that he may stir up his own graces in us, that they may flow out.
Use. Let us labour, then, in ourselves to be full of goodness, that so we may be fitted to do good to all. As God is good, and does good to all, so must we strive to be as like him as may be; in which case, for others’ sakes, we must pray that God would make the winds to blow out fully upon us, ’that our spices may flow out’ for their good. For a Christian in his right temper thinks that he hath nothing good to purpose, but that which does good to others.
Thus far of Christ’s command to the north and south wind to awake and blow upon his garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. In the next place we have—
II. Christ’s invitation by the church to come into his garden, with the end thereof, ’to eat his pleasant fruits.’ Which words shew the church’s further desire of Christ’s presence to delight in the graces of his own Spirit in her. She invites him to come and take delight in the graces of his own Spirit; and she calls him ’Beloved,’ because all her love is, or should be, imparted and spent on Christ, who gave himself to a cursed death for her. Our love should run in strength no other way, therefore the church calls Christ her ’Beloved.’ Christ was there before, but she desires a further presence of him, whence we may observe, that
Wheresoever grace is truly begun and stirred up, there is still a further desire of Christ’s presence; and approaching daily more and more near to the soul, the church, thinks him never near enough to her until she be in heaven with him. The true spouse and the bride always, unless in desertion and temptation, crieth, ’Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,’ Revelation 22:20. Now, these degrees of Christ’s approaches to the soul, until his second coming, are, that he may manifest himself more and more in defending, comforting, and enabling his church with grace. Every further manifestation of his presence is a further coming.
Quest. But why is the church thus earnest?
Reason 1. First, because grace helps to see our need of Christ, and so helps us to prize him the more; which high esteem breeds a hungering, earnest desire after him, and a desire of further likeness and suitableness to him.
Secondly, because the church well knows that when Christ comes to the soul he comes not alone, but with his Spirit, and his Spirit with abundance of peace and comfort. This she knows, what need she hath of his presence, that without him there is no comfortable living; for wheresoever he is, he makes the soul a kind of heaven, and all conditions of life comfortable.
Use. Hence we may see that those that do not desire the presence of Christ in his ordinances are, it is to be feared, such as the wind of the Holy Ghost never blew upon. There are some of such a disposition as they cannot endure the presence of Christ, such as antichrist and his limbs,* whom the presence of Christ in his ordinances blasts and consumes. Such are not only profane and worldly persons, but proud hypocrites, who glory in something of their own; and therefore their hearts rise against Christ and his ordinances, as laying open and shaming their emptiness and carnalness. The Spirit in the spouse is always saying to Christ, ’Come.’ It hath never enough of him. He was now in a sort present; but the church, after it is once blown upon, is not satisfied without a further presence. It is from the Spirit that we desire more of the Spirit, and from the presence of Christ that we desire a further presence and communion with him. Now, The end and reason why Christ is desired by the Church to come into his garden is ’to eat his pleasant fruits;’ that is, to give him contentment. And is it not fit that Christ should eat the fruit of his own vine? have comfort of his own garden? to taste of his own fruits? The only delight Christ hath in the world is in his garden, and that he might take the more delight in it, he makes it fruitful; and those fruits are precious fruits, as growing from plants set by his own hand, relishing of his own Spirit, and so fitted for his taste. Now, the church, knowing what fitted Christ’s taste best, and knowing the fruits of grace in her heart, desireth that Christ would delight in his own graces in her, and kindly accept of what she presented him with. Whence we see that A gracious heart is privy to its own grace and sincerity when it is in a right temper, and so far as it is privy is bold with Christ in a sweet and reverend manner. So much sincerity, so much confidence. If our heart condemn us not of unsincerity, we may in a reverend manner speak boldly to Christ. It is not fit there should be strangeness betwixt Christ and his spouse; neither, indeed, will there be, when Christ hath blown upon her, and when she is on the growing hand. But mark the order.
First, Christ blows, and then the church says, ’Come.’ Christ begins in love, then love draws love. Christ draws the church, and she runs after him, Song of Solomon 1:4. The fire of love melts more than the fire of affliction.
Again, we may see here in the church a carefulness to please Christ. As it is the duty, so it is the disposition, of the church of Christ, to please her husband.
1. The reason is, first, our happiness stands in his contentment, and all cannot but be well in that house where the husband and the wife delight in, and make much of, each other.
2. And again, after that the church hath denied herself and the vanities of the world, entering into a way and course of mortification, whom else hath she to give herself to, or receive contentment from? Our manner is to study to please men whom we hope to rise by, being careful that all we do may be well taken of them. As for Christ, we put him off with anything. If he likes it, so it is; if not, it is the best that he is like to have.
Uses. 1. Oh! let us take the apostle’s counsel, ’To labour to walk worthy of the Lord, &c., unto all well-pleasing, increasing in knowledge, and fruitfulness in every good work,’ Colossians 1:9-10. And this knowledge must not only be a general wisdom in knowing truths, but a special understanding of his good-will to us, and our special duties again to him.
2. Again, that we may please Christ the better, labour to be cleansed from that which is offensive to him: let the spring be clean. Therefore the psalmist, desiring that the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart might be acceptable before God, first begs ’cleansing from his secret sins,’ Psalms 19:12.
3. And still we must remember that he himself must work in us whatsoever is well-pleasing in his sight, that so we may be perfect in every good thing to do his will, having grace whereby we may serve him acceptably. And one prevailing argument with him is, that we desire to be such as he may take delight in: ’the upright are his delight.’ It cannot but please him when we desire grace for this end that we may please him. If we study to please men in whom there is but little good, should we not much more study to please Christ, the fountain of goodness? Labour therefore to be spiritual; for ’to be carnally minded is death,’ Romans 8:6, and ’those that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ The church desires Christ to come into his garden, ’to eat his pleasant fruits,’ where we see, the church gives all to Christ. The garden is his, the fruit his, the pleasantness and preciousness of the fruit is his. And as the fruits please him, so the humble acknowledgment that they come from him doth exceedingly please him. It is enough for us to have the comfort, let him have the glory. It came from a good spirit in David when he said, ’Of thine own, Lord, I give thee,’ &c., 1 Chronicles 29:14. God accounts the works and fruits that come from us to be ours, because the judgment and resolution of will, whereby we do them, is ours. This he doth to encourage us; but because the grace whereby we judge and will aright, comes from God, it is our duty to ascribe whatsoever is good in us, or comes from us, unto him; so God shall lose no praise, and we lose no encouragement. The imperfections in well-doing are only ours, and those Christ will pardon, as knowing how to bear with the infirmities of his spouse, being ’the weaker vessel,’ 1 Peter 3:7.
Use. This therefore should cheer up our spirits in the wants and blemishes of our performances. They are notwithstanding precious fruits in Christ’s acceptance, so that we desire to please him above all things, and to have nearer communion with him. Fruitfulness unto pleasingness may stand with imperfections, so that we be sensible of them, and ashamed for them. Although the fruit be little, yet it is precious, there is a blessing in it. Imperfections help us against temptations to pride, not to be matter of discouragement, which Satan aims at. And as Christ commands the north and south wind to blow for cherishing, so Satan labours to stir up an east pinching wind, to take either from endeavour, or to make us heartless in endeavour. Why should we think basely of that which Christ thinks precious? Why should we think that offensive which he counts as incense? We must not give false witness of the work of grace in our hearts, but bless God that he will work anything in such polluted hearts as ours. What though, as they come from us, they have a relish of the old man, seeing he takes them from us, ’perfumes them with his own sweet odours,’ Revelation 8:3, and so presents them unto God. He is our High Priest which makes all acceptable, both persons, prayers, and performances, sprinkling them all with his blood, Hebrews 9:14. To conclude this point, let it be our study to be in such a condition wherein we may please Christ; and whereas we are daily prone to offend him, let us daily renew our covenant with him, and in him: and fetch encouragements of well-doing from this, that what we do is not only well-pleasing unto him, but rewarded of him. And to this end desire him, that he would give command to north and south, to all sort of means, to be effectual for making us more fruitful, that he may delight in us as his pleasant gardens. And then what is in the world that we need much care for or fear?
Now, upon the church’s invitation for Christ to come into his garden, follows his gracious answer unto the church’s desire, in the first verse of this fifth chapter:
’I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved,’ Song of Solomon 5:1. Which words contain in them an answer to the desire of the church in the latter part of the verse formerly handled: ’Awake, thou north wind; and come, thou south,’ &c.
Then, ver. 2, is set forth the secure estate of the church at this time, ’I sleep, but my heart waketh;’ in setting down whereof the Holy Ghost here by Solomon shews likewise, The loving intercourse betwixt Christ and the church one with another.
Now Christ, upon the secure estate and condition of the church, desires her ’to open unto him,’ ver 2; which desire and waiting of Christ is put off and slighted with poor and slender excuses: ver. 3, ’I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?’ &c. The success* of which excuses is, that Christ seems to go away from her (and indeed to her sight and sense departs): ver. 6, ’I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself,’ &c.; whereupon she lays about her, is restless, and inquires after Christ from the watchmen, who misuse, ’wound her, and take away her veil from her,’ ver. 7.
Another intercourse in this chapter here is, that the church for all this gives not over searching after Christ, but asks the daughters of Jerusalem what was become of her beloved, ver. 8; and withal, in a few words, but full of large expression, she relates her case unto them, that ’she was sick of love,’ and so ’chargeth them to tell her beloved,’ ’if they find him.’ Whereupon a question moved by them, touching her beloved, ver. 9, ’What is thy beloved more than another beloved?’ she takes occasion, being full of love, which is glad of all occasion to speak of the beloved, to burst forth into his praises, by many elegant expressions, verses 10, 11, 12, &c.
1. In general, setting him at a large distance, beyond comparison from all others, to be ’the chiefest of ten thousand,’ ver. 10.
2. In particulars, ver. 11, &c.: ’his head is as most fine gold,’ &c. The issue whereof was, that the ’daughters of Jerusalem’ become likewise enamoured with him, chap. 6:1; and thereupon inquire also after him, ’Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women?’ &c. Unto which demand the church makes answer, chap. 6:2; and so, ver. 3 of that chapter makes a confident, triumphant close unto all these grand passages forenamed, ’I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine,’ &c.; all of which will better appear in the particulars themselves. The first thing then which offereth itself to our consideration is Christ’s answer to the church’s invitation, chap. 4:16:
’I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.’ In which verse we have, I. Christ’s answer to the church’s petition, ’I am come into my garden.’
II. A compellation, or description of the church, ’My sister, my spouse.’
III. Christ’s acceptation of what he had gotten there, ’I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey.’ There is,
IV. An invitation of all Christ’s friends to a magnifique* abundant feast, ’Eat, O friends; drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved.’
I. For the first, then, in that Christ makes such a real answer unto the church’s invitation, ’I am come into my garden,’ &c., we see, that Christ comes into his garden. ’Tis much that he that hath heaven to delight in, will delight to dwell among the sons of sinful men; but this he doth for us, and so takes notice of the church’s petition.
’Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruit.’ The right speech of the church that gives all to Christ, who, when she hath made such a petition, hears it. The order is this—
First of all, God makes his church lovely, planteth good things therein, and then stirs up in her good desires: both fitness to pray from an inward gracious disposition, and holy desires; after which, Christ hearing the voice of his own Spirit in her, and regarding his own preparations, he answers them graciously. Whence, in the first place, we may observe, that, God makes us good, stirs up holy desires in us, and then answers the desires of his holy Spirit in us. A notable place for this we have, Psalms 10:17, which shews how God first prepares the heart to pray, and then hears these desires of the soul stirred up by his own Spirit, ’Lord, thou hast heard the desires of the humble.’ None are fit to pray but the humble, such as discern their own wants: ’Thou wilt prepare their hearts, thou wilt make thine ear to hear.’ So Romans 8:26, it is said, ’Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.’ Thus the Spirit not only stirs up our heart to pray, but also prepares our hearts unto it. Especially this is necessary for us, when our thoughts are confused with trouble, grief, and passions, not knowing what to pray. In this case the Spirit dictates the words of prayer, or else, in a confusion of thoughts, sums up all in a volley of sighs and unexpressible groans. Thus it is true, that our hearts can neither be lifted up to prayer, nor rightly prepared for it, in any frame fitting, but by God’s own Spirit. Nothing is accepted of God toward heaven and happiness, but that which is spiritual: all saving and sanctifying good comes from above. Therefore God must prepare the heart, stir up holy desires, dictate prayer; must do all in all, being our ’Alpha and Omega,’ Revelation 1:8.
1. Now God hears our prayers, First, Because the materials of these holy desires are good in themselves, and from the person from whence they come, his beloved spouse, as it is in Song of Solomon 2:14, where Christ, desiring to hear the voice of his church, saith, ’Let me see thy countenance, and let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.’ Thus the voice of the Spouse is sweet, because it is stirred up by his own Spirit, which burns the incense, and whence all comes which is savingly good. This offering up of our prayers in the name of Christ, is that which with his sweet odours perfumes all our sacrifices and prayers; because, being in the covenant of grace, God respects whatsoever comes from us, as we do the desires of our near friends, Revelation 8:3.
2. And then, again, God hears our prayers, because he looks upon us as we are in election, and choice of God the Father, who hath given us to him. Not only as in the near bond of marriage, husband and wife, but also as he hath given us to Christ; which is his plea unto the Father, John 17:6, ’Thine they were, thou gavest them me,’ &c. The desires of the church please him, because they are stirred up by his Spirit, and proceed from her that is his; whose voice he delights to hear, and the prayers of others for his church are accepted, because they are for her that is his beloved. To confirm this further, see Isaiah 58:9. ’Thou then shalt cry, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt call, and presently he shall say, Here I am,’ &c. So as soon as Daniel had ended that excellent prayer, the angel telleth him, ’At the beginning of thy supplications the decree came forth,’ &c., Daniel 9:23. So because he knows what to put into our hearts, he knows our desires and thoughts, and therefore accepts of our prayers and hears us, because he loves the voice of his own Spirit in us. So it is said, ’He fulfils the desires of them that fear him; and he is near to all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth,’ Psalms 145:18. And our Saviour, he saith, ’Ask and ye shall receive,’ &c., Matthew 7:7. So we have it, 1 John 5:14, ’And we know if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.’
Use 1. Let it therefore be a singular comfort to us, that in all wants, so in that of friends, when we have none to go to, yet we have God, to whom we may freely pour out our hearts. There being no place in the world that can restrain us from his presence, or his Spirit from us, he can hear us and help us in all places. What a blessed estate is this! None can hinder us from driving this trade with Christ in heaven.
Use 2. And let us make another use of it likewise, to be a means to stir up our hearts to make use of our privileges. What a prerogative is it for a favourite to have the fare* of his prince! him we account happy. Surely he is much more happy that hath God’s care, him to be his father in the covenant of grace; him reconciled, upon all occasions, to pour out his heart before him, who is merciful and faithful, wise and most able to help us. ’Why are we discouraged, therefore; and why are we cast down,’ Psalms 42:11, when we have such a powerful and such a gracious God to go to in all our extremities? He that can pray can never be much uncomfortable.
Use 3. So likewise, it should stir us up to keep our peace with God, that so we may always have access unto him, and communion with him. What a pitiful case is it to lose other comforts, and therewith also to be in such a state, that we cannot go to God with any boldness! It is the greatest loss of all when we have lost the spirit of prayer; for, if we lose other things, we may recover them by prayer. But when we have lost this boldness to go to God, and are afraid to look him in the face, as malefactors the judge, this is a woful state.
Now there are diverse cases wherein the soul is not in a state fit for prayer. As that first, Psalms 66:18, ’If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not regard my prayer.’ If a man hath a naughty heart, that purposeth to live in any sin against God, he takes him for an enemy, and therefore will not regard his prayer. Therefore we must come with a resolute purpose to break off all sinful courses, and to give up ourselves to the guidance of God’s Spirit. And this will be a forcible reason to move us thereunto, because so long as we live in any known sin unrepented of, God neither regards us nor our prayers. What a fearful estate is this, that when we have such need of God’s favour in all estates; in sickness, the hour of death, and in spiritual temptation, to be in such a condition as that we dare not go to God! Though our lives be civil,* yet if we have false hearts that feed themselves with evil imaginations, and with a purpose of sinning, though we act it not, the Lord will not regard the prayers of such a one; they are abominable. The very ’sacrifice of the wicked is abominable,’ Proverbs 15:8.
2. Another case is, when we will not forgive others. We know it is directly set down in the Lord’s prayer, ’Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us,’ Matthew 6:14; and there is further added, ver. 15, ’If you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you.’ If our hearts tell us we have no disposition to pardon, be at peace and agreement, then we do but take God’s name in vain when we ask him to forgive our sins, and we continue in envy and malice. In this case God will not regard our prayers, as it is said, ’I care not for your prayers, or for any service you perform to me,’ Isaiah 1:15. Why? ’For your hands are full of blood,’ Isaiah 66:1. You are unmerciful, of a cruel, fierce disposition, which cannot appear before God rightly, nor humble itself in prayer. If it doth, its own bloody and cruel disposition will be objected against the prayers, which are not mingled with faith and love, but with wrath and bitterness. Shall I look for mercy, that have no merciful heart myself? Can I hope to find that of God, that others cannot find from me? An unbroken disposition, which counts ’pride an ornament,’ Psalms 73:6, that is cruel and fierce, it cannot go to God in prayer. For, whosoever would prevail with God in prayer must be humble; for our supplications must come from a loving, peaceable disposition, where there is a resolution against all sin, Psalms 73:1. Neither is it sufficient to avoid grudging and malice against these, but we must look that others have not cause to grudge against us, as it is commanded: ’If thou bring thy gifts to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift,’ Matthew 5:23. So that if we do not seek reconciliation with men unto whom we have done wrong, God will not be reconciled to us, nor accept any service from us.
If then we would have our prayers and our persons accepted or respected, let us make conscience of that which hath been said, and not lose such a blessed privilege as this is, that God may regard our prayers. But here may be asked—
Quest. How shall I know whether God regard my prayers or not?
Ans. 1. First, When he grants the thing prayed for, or enlargeth our hearts to pray still. It is a greater gift than the thing itself we beg, to have a spirit of prayer with a heart enlarged; for, as long as the heart is enlarged to prayer, it is a sign that God hath a special regard of us, and will grant our petition in the best and fittest time.
2. When he answers us in a better and higher kind, as Paul when he prayed for the taking away of the prick of the flesh, had promises of sufficient grace, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.
3. When, again, he gives us inward peace, though he gives not the thing, as Php 4:6, ’In nothing be careful, but in all things let your requests be made to God with prayer and thanksgiving.’
Obj. But sometimes he doth not answer our requests.
Ans. It is true he doth not, but ’the peace of God which passeth all understanding guards our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God,’ Philip. 4:7. So though he answers not our prayers in particular, yet he vouchsafes inward peace unto us, assuring us that it shall go well with us, though not in that particular we beg. And thus in not hearing their prayers, yet they have their hearts’ desire when God’s will is made known. Is not this sufficient for a Christian, either to have the thing, or to have inward peace, with assurance that it shall go better with them than if they had it; with a spirit enlarged to pray, till they have the thing prayed for. If any of these be, God respects our prayers.
Again, in that Christ is thus ready to come into his garden upon the church’s invitation, we may further observe, that Christ vouchsafes his gracious presence to his children upon their desire of it. The point is clear. From the beginning of the world, the church hath had the presence of Christ alway; for either he hath been present in sacrifices, or in some other things, signs of his presence, as in the ’bush,’ Exodus 3:2, or some more glorious manifestation of his presence, the ark, Exodus 25:22, and in the cloud and pillar of fire, Exodus 13:21, and after that more gloriously in the temple. He hath ever been present with his church in some sign or evidence of his presence; he delighted to be with the children of men. Sometimes before that he assumed a body, and afterward laid it down again, until he came, indeed, to take our nature upon him, never to leave it again. But here is meant a spiritual presence most of all, which the church in some sort ever had, now desires, and he offers, as being a God ’hearing prayer,’ Psalms 65:2. And to instance in one place for all, to see how ready Christ hath always been to shew his presence to the church upon their desire. What else is the burden of the 107th Psalm but a repetition of God’s readiness to shew his presence in the church, upon their seeking unto him, and unfeigned desire of it, notwithstanding all their manifold provocations of him to anger? which is well summed up, Psalms 106:43, ’Many times did he deliver them, but they provoked him with their counsel, and wore brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless, he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry.’
It doth not content the church to have a kind of spiritual presence of Christ, but it is carried from desire to desire, till the whole desire be accomplished; for as there are gradual presences of Christ, so there are suitable desires in the church which rise by degrees. Christ was present, 1, by his gracious spirit; and then, 2, more graciously present in his incarnation, the sweetest time that ever the church had from the beginning of the world until then. It being ’the desire of nations,’ Haggai 2:7, for the description of those who lived before his coming is from ’the waiting for the consolation of Israel,’ that is, for the first coming of Christ. And then there is a 3d and more glorious presence of Christ, that all of us wait for, whereby we are described to be such ’as wait for the coming of Christ,’ Mark 15:43. For the soul of a Christian is never satisfied until it enjoy the highest desire of Christ’s presence, which the church knew well enough must follow in time. Therefore, she especially desires this spiritual presence in a larger and fuller measure, which she in some measure already had. So, then, Christ is graciously present in his church by his Holy Spirit. ’I will be with you,’ saith he, ’unto the end of the world,’ Matthew 28:20. It is his promise. When I am gone myself, ’I will not leave you comfortless,’ John 14:18, but leave with you my vicar-general, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who shall be alway with you. But—
Quest. How shall we know that Christ is present in us?
Ans. To know this, we shall not need to pull him from heaven. We may know it in the word and sacraments, and in the communion of saints; for these are the conveyances whereby he manifests himself, together with the work of his own gracious Spirit in us; for, as we need not take the sun from heaven to know whether or not it be up, or be day, which may be known by the light, heat, and fruitfulness of the creature; and as in the spring we need not look to the heaven to see whether the sun be come near us or not, for looking on the earth we may see all green, fresh, lively, strong, and vigorous; so it is with the presence of Christ. We may know he is present by that light which is in the soul, convincing us of better courses to be taken, of a spiritual life, to know heavenly things, and the difference of them from earthly, and to set a price upon them. When there is, together with light, a heat above nature, the affections are kindled to love the best things, and to joy in them; and when, together with heat, there is strength and vigour to carry us to spiritual duties, framing us to a holy communion with God, and one with another; and likewise when there is every way cheerfulness and enlargement of spirit, as it is with the creature when the sun approacheth. For these causes the church desires Christ, that she may have more light, life, heat, vigour, strength, and that she may be more cheerful and fruitful in duties. The soul, when it is once made spiritual, doth still desire a further and further presence of Christ, to be made better and better.
What a comfort is this to Christians, that they have the presence of Christ so far forth as shall make them happy, and as the earth will afford. Nothing but heaven, or rather Christ in heaven itself, will content the child of God. In the mean time, his presence in the congregation makes their souls, as it were, heaven. If the king’s presence, who carries the court with him, makes all places where he is a court, so Christ he carries a kind of heaven with him. Wheresoever he is, his presence hath with it life, light, comfort, strength, and all; for one beam of his countenance will scatter all the clouds of grief whatsoever. It is no matter where we be, so Christ be with us. If with the three children in a fiery furnace, it is no matter, if ’a fourth be there also,’ Daniel 3:25. So if Christ be with us, the flames nor nothing shall hurt us. If in a dungeon, as Paul and Silas were, Acts 16:24, if Christ’s presence be there, by his Spirit to enlarge our souls, all is comfortable whatsoever. It changeth the nature of all things, sweeteneth everything, besides that sweetness which it brings unto the soul, by the presence of the Spirit; as we see in the Acts, when they had received the Holy Ghost more abundantly, they cared not what they suffered, regarded not whipping; nay, were glad ’that they were accounted worthy to suffer anything for Christ,’ Acts 5:41. Whence came this fortitude? From the presence of Christ, and the Comforter which he had formerly promised. So let us have the Spirit of Christ that comes from him; then it is no matter what our condition be in the world. Upon this ground let us fear nothing that shall befall us in God’s cause, whatsoever it is. We shall have a spirit of prayer at the worst. God never takes away the spirit of supplication from his children, but leaves them that, until at length he possess them fully of their desires. In all Christ’s delays, let us look unto the cause, and to our carriage therein; renew our repentance, that we may be in a fit state to go to God, and God to come to us. Desire him to fit us for prayer and holy communion with him, that we may never doubt of his presence.